invisible scars
by sundqvist.ingrid
Summary: Arizona Robbins wakes up at SGMW hospital after a traumatic event. It turns out that she has been reported missing for over a decade. While in hospital she meets the beautiful Dr Callie Torres.
1. Jane Doe

Chapter 1

'Jane Doe'

Dr Calliope Torres ran as quickly as her legs could carry her, down the corridor that led out to the emergency bay. A trauma was on its way in. Only two minutes from Seattle Grey's Mercy West Hospital. It had been a hectic day so far for the tall Latina but with every trauma that came through the double doors more adrenaline pumped through her body. She simply loved being an Orthopaedic surgeon.

"Mark, what have we got?"

Dr Sloan turned as he slipped on a pair of gloves. "Hey, Torres." Taking a step closer to the brunette, he gave her a wink. "I like that top on you. It gives you a nice cleavage."

Callie looked down at her chest area. "Um, usually I would be flattered and maybe even blush at such flirtatious manner, but coming from you, Mark it just sounds a bit sleazy." She struggled with a disposable glove. "Not to mention that you are a man and have body parts, that doesn't interest me, could also be a reason."

Mark gave her another wink. "That's not what you said about a year ago. You seemed to like my parts quite well." He put his hands on his hips, smiled and confidence was oozing.

Finally, Callie won the battle with the glove. "Well, that was because I was lonely, horny and stupid to sleep with my best friend." Sirens could now be heard from a distance. "Mark, you're an awesome friend and I wouldn't change you for the world but at the end of the day you are a man whore."

Mark just shrugged and turned as the ambulance pulled up.

The team approached the vehicle as the paramedics opened the doors.

"Female, approximately early thirties. No ID or driver licence. Found unconscious next to the road a few miles outside the city. She has been out of it the whole time. Trauma to her head, face and chest. Possible fractures to her arms and ribs. A severely shattered left knee. Looks like she got one hell of a beating."

Callie immediately pulled the blanket that covered the woman's body, down to visually asses her injuries. Her arms did look bruised and quite swollen. There was no lacerations so it was hard to tell if there was any bones broken or if her arms were just badly damaged.

Callie Torres was in her element. "Okay, guys. Let's make sure she is stable and then bring her up for a CT and X rays. Dr Sloan, how deep are the lacerations on her face? Will she need surgery?"

Mark was a skilled plastic surgeon and was quite well known around the country for many successful operations. He always referred to his patients as a canvas and his scalpel as a painting brush and together they were creating art.

Dr Sloan quickly looked over the cuts on her face. "They don't appear to be too deep. Clean contusions and bruises. I'll have her nicely stitched up in no time and hopefully we don't have to worry about scaring, since I am such an amazing surgeon and artist." He gave the stunning Latina a wink.

Callie rolled her eyes and pushed the unconscious woman through the double doors, ready to start her procedure.

Fortunately, there were no fractures but deep tissue trauma on both sides of her rib area was found. Signs of swelling in the brain was Callie's biggest concern and the shattered knee was going to need several surgeries. It was fine for now, tightly wrapped up and supported. She had paged Dr Derrick Shepherd, Seattle Grey's greatest neurosurgeon, for a consult. Her face was neatly stitched and Callie could tell that scaring would not be an issue.

While she waited for Dr Shepherd to arrive she finally took the time to actually take a proper look at the woman lying on the hospital bed in front of her.

Her blonde hair was dishevelled but had a nice shine to it. Since she had checked the woman's eyes for brain injuries she had noticed that they were pale blue and jet black eyelashes framed them. Her well defined jawline made Callie want to trace it with the tip of her fingers but quickly stopped herself from reaching out and touch her. While Callie had examined her body earlier, she had found numerous old scars on the woman and came to the conclusion that this was not the first time this had happened.

She glanced down at the medical chart that she held in her hands and starred at the top section where the patients name should've been.

It was empty.

She had left that section out since nobody knew who the woman was, were she came from or how she ended up in a hospital bed with a maybe life threatening head injury. She sighed and scribbled down 'Jane Doe' on the empty line.

"You paged me, Dr Torres?"

The brunette jumped at the sudden voice. "Dr Shepherd. You gave me a fright. I didn't hear you coming through the door."

Derrick held his hands up and smiled. "Sorry, it was not my intention. What have we got?" His eyes left dark brown and glanced over towards the blonde lying motionless on the bed. His face showed sympathy for the woman. "What happened to her?"

Callie sighed. "We don't know. She was found next to a country road in the outskirts. Been unconscious ever since." The Latina handed Dr Shepherd her tablet. "Could you please have a look at her scans?"

The Neurosurgeon flickered through the scans on the screen and quickly assessed the situation. "She does have some swelling on her brain showing. It doesn't look too serious but the next 24 hours will be critical. If she hasn't woken up by tomorrow afternoon and if the swelling is still present I'm afraid surgery is the only option." He gave the tablet back to Callie. "Why don't you get Dr Kepner to take a picture of the patient, contact the authorities and see if she is in the system for missing persons? If not then we'll wait until she regains consciousness to get an ID."

"And if she doesn't wake up?"

Derrick sighed and gave her a sad smile. "We'll deal with that if it comes to it."

Callie glanced at her watch. 11.23 p.m. "Great. So much for an early night." She headed towards the lobby doors, drained from the long day. "Thank God my apartment is just across the street."

"Dr Torres!"

The brunette stopped dead in her tracks and let her head fall. "It better be good Dr Kepner?"

The read head nervously shoved her hands in the pockets of her lab coat. "Well… I, eh…"

Callie sighed. "Out with it, April."

"I just received some news about you 'Jane Doe'." She had respect for the tall Orthopaedic surgeon. Rumours were always rumours but April knew that in this case they were true. The Latina had been known for having a heated temper when things didn't go according to her plan and she could see that this was not a good moment to catch the brunette but she had some news that could be of use with the unidentified patient.

"They found a match. Her Name is Arizona Robbins. She was born on December 14 1977 in San Diego California." She handed Callie the papers the Police had faxed over. "But listen to this," the brunette's eyes drifted over the sheets, not given a chance to read through them herself.

"Her parents reported her missing in 1995, the day after her 18th birthday. She has not been seen or heard from ever since."

Callie took a deep breath and felt the sudden need to sit down. Her 'Jane Doe' had suddenly reviled her true identity. A thousand questions were running through her head at the same time. Questions she probably never would find the answers to. After all, this woman was just her patient and nothing else. Her history and the reason why she went missing had nothing to do with Callie. The authorities would handle that part. But she couldn't help but feeling somewhat responsible for the blonde. Not to mention extremely curious as to why she suddenly disappeared and how she ended up on a hospital bed.

Callie rubbed a hand over her face in pure confusion and exhaustion. They both couldn't shake off the feeling that they had just stumbled across something big. Something out of their control and expertise. This was more than just a case of a battered woman found unconscious. This was surreal.

"Okay," Callie rubbed her temples trying to figure out where to go from here. "Contact the Police again. Try to find out where her parents live or any relatives she might have. It's our responsibility to contact any family members. We, or the police, won't get any wiser on this case until she wakes up. Until then we just have to wait. Page me if she wakes up during the night or if there is any change in her vitals. Tell nobody about this Dr Kepner, I'm serious. If this comes out it will be a media frenzy and we will have a lot more to deal with. Any changes, what so ever in her treatment I want to be informed immediately. Nothing is to be done without me knowing it. Everything goes through me first. I'm her doctor. Understood?"

April just nodded. "Absolutely. I'll be here all night so I'll keep a close eye and make sure to let you know if anything comes up. I'll tell the police we'll contact them when or if she wakes up."

Callie put a hand on her shoulder to show her some kind of appreciation for doing this and for being discreet. "Thank you, Dr Kepner. I know I can rely on you."

Callie found herself eager to get to the hospital the next morning. She had had a troubled sleep with strange and bizarre dreams that made no sense and she wouldn't even try to make sense out of them because there was no use.

It was 08.47 a.m. when she pushed through the double doors of the hospital. It was buzzing. But then again, a busy hospital like this never slept. Always traumas, cases and patients coming in and out like bees in a beehive.

She headed straight to the stairs then towards the locker room. After getting into her lab coat, ready to start her rounds, she almost crashed into Dr Yang.

"Wow, Torres! Watch out."

The brunette almost dropped her tablet she just seconds ago picked up at the nurses station. "Christina, sorry. I didn't see you."

"Well duh, if you saw me you wouldn't have crashed into me." The Asian woman standing in front of Callie always had an opinion. She was very straight forward, outspoken and blunt. She always spoke before thinking of the consequences or how other people would react or feel. Callie was used to it by now and never took anything Dr Yang said personally. They were great friends and previously shared an apartment together.

Callie was in too much of a hurry to say something smart back to Christina. Dr Yang looked shocked. "What? No comments? No nasty replies?"

Torres eyes were fixed on the tablet screen before her, flicking through images. "No, I don't have time today. Places to go and patients to be seen."

Christina crossed her arms over her chest. "Any news about your 'Jane Doe'?"

Callie's head snapped up. "How do you know about her? How much do you know?"

Dr Yang put her hands up in defence. "Hey, touchy subject. I don't know anything about her but the way you just reacted wants me to know more." Her eyes were glowing with interest. Christina had always loved gossip, especially if it was top secret. "What's up?" A big grin spread across her face.

"Nothing is up, Christina. It's just a sensitive case, that's all. There is nothing else to know."

"Oh, come on, Callie! I can see that something is up. You look a bit troubled. Maybe talking about it would help. I'm here to listen."

Callie could see straight through her friend. "Nice try, Christina. I'm telling you shit."

The Latina was just about to turn away to start doing her rounds when a red head crashed into her. "Shit!" Rubbing her upper arm. "What is this? 'Bring Callie down day?' Did you two plan this or something?"

April looked genuinely sorry. "I… I'm so sorry Dr Torres." Her face got redder by the second and Callie felt a bit sorry for her.

"It's fine. Let's move on shall we?"

Dr Kepner handed her a thick file. "Here is you case file. The Police faxed it over early this morning. All the information connected to her case is in there. You just have to sign the form on the top to say that you will not disclose any of the info when it comes to this case. I had to sign one too, since I was the one receiving the fax and all. Not that I would have read it if they told me not to, it's just standard procedure and all that." April was rambling and she knew it. She was a nervous person in general but she always meant well and she would always go that extra mile just to please. What she suddenly realised was that Dr Yang was standing behind Callie and had heard everything that was just said.

Dr Kepner put a hand on her forehead when she realised what she had just done. "Oh God! I'm so, so terribly sorry. I did not see Dr Yang. I… oh my God, I'm so sorry, I…"

"Just shut up, Kepner." Callie ran her hand through her dark tresses in frustration. "What's done is done." She turned around to face Christina. "Dr Yang, what you just heard is not to be repeated to anyone, and I mean anyone. Not even to your patients, lying on your operating table under anaesthesia, not even if they are dead. Have I made myself clear?"

Christina closed her mouth that apparently had been left open for a while in shock. "Um… Eh… yeah, sure. Dead or alive, I'm not talking."

Callie looked her straight in the eye and spoke with a stern voice. "Good." She turned to April who handed her the file. "Now, I will do my rounds, go to my office and read through these documents. I do not want to be disturbed." She gracefully strode down the corridor to start her day.

Meredith Grey stopped by the nurse's station to pick up one of the high definition tablet. She scrolled down and looked closely at the X-ray scans that belonged to one of her patients who suffered from severe pancreatic cancer. This man was in stage four and the cancer had now spread to his liver and lungs. There was nothing they could do for him except try to make him more comfortable by easing his pain and make sure his family was there for him. She placed the pad in its docking station and grabbed another one. She felt a presence to her right and turned her head.

"Morning Christina."

The cardio surgeon was typing on her own pad, looking over patient's stats. Without looking up she mumbled something incoherent to her best friend.

Meredith put her pad down. "Hello, earth to Christina."

Dr Yang tore her eyes from the screen. "What? Oh sorry. Morning." Her attention was now back on the tablet in front of her.

Dr Grey raised her eyebrows. "Something is up, Christina?"

"Nope. Nothing is up. Everything is perfectly fine. Fine, you know. Just fine. Same as yesterday. Yesterday was fine… well, except that I lost that 400 pound cardiac arrest patient before I even got him on my operating table but otherwise it was fine, don't you think?"

She turned to leave but Dr Grey was much quicker even though she was six months pregnant with Dr Shepherd's child. They had been trying for months to get pregnant so their adoptive daughter Zola, who was three years old, could have a baby sister or brother. The couple didn't want to know the sex of the baby because Meredith wanted it to be a surprise. Not knowing the gender made it difficult to think of names so for now the baby's name was plain and simple called foetus.

Meredith grabbed her arm to get her attention. "Don't give me that crap, Christina. I know you well enough to know that something is going on. Spill!"

Dr Yang closed her eyes and let out a frustrating groan. "I promised Callie I wouldn't tell anyone."

Meredith nodded. "Okay, well then don't. A promise is a promise." She let go of her friend's arm.

Christina opened and closed her mouth in an infuriating manner. "But I'm dying to tell someone. I have to unload this burden that Callie so nicely decided to load me with. I feel like I'm going to burst. It's not fair."

"Christina. You can't break a promise. Even though I love you and you are my person, I am not going to let you break this promise. Try to get it out of your head. Try to get your hands on an exciting surgery, eat crap food, go for a run or have hot, mad and crazy sex with Dr Hunt. I don't care what you do just don't break the promise you made Callie." Dr Grey's pager went off. "911, I have to go. I'll see you in the cafeteria for lunch."

Dr Yang was going through the options that Meredith just gave her. It didn't take her that long to make up her mind. She was now on a mission to find Dr Owen Hunt and an empty on call room.

Callie had finished her rounds and was now sitting by her desk in her office with a steaming cup of coffee. There had been no changes in Arizona's physical state. All her vitals were still good and for now she was stable. There was technically nothing stopping her from waking up but Callie knew that the brain is the body's most mysterious organ and all that grey matter inside our skull was a complicated and fascinating structure. It was all a waiting game from now on.

She sipped the hot liquid and felt it sooth her throat as she read the document of discretion she had to sign. After taking care of that part she quickly moved on to her medical history up until she suddenly disappeared. Nothing unusual there. The case file held all the information of her disappearance. Search parties, sightings from witnesses and all the places that had been thoroughly swept. Four years after her disappearance the police and the authorities had given up hope and declared it as a cold case. There was also information about Arizona's parents and her older brother Timothy. They had hired a private investigator shortly after all the attempts to find her were shut down. Nothing had come up and 18 months after countless efforts, time and money everything was at a standstill. The search was again closed when her parents were tragically killed in a car accident four years after she went missing.

_God, the poor woman probably doesn't even know her parents are dead. _

Callie turned to the next page and was startled to see a photograph of Arizona, taken only a few weeks before she disappeared. She was smiling in the picture. Her blond hair fell freely around her shoulders and blue piercing eyes stared back at her. The most striking thing about her features were the dimples. The cutest little dimples on each side of her cheeks were clearly visible. Callie ran two fingers across the picture, tracing the blond woman's clear complexion. _What happened to you? How did you end up here? What have you been through? _

All these questions were running wild and she knew that finding the answers would be slim to none if Arizona didn't regain consciousness. She flipped to the next page and was met by a young man who had a striking resemblance to the blond. _He must be Arizona's brother. _They both had same colour hair, the blue eyes were identical and dimples could be seen on his smooth skin. What Callie read next made her heart beat faster. Timothy had joined the army after their parents were killed. Three years he served his country before he died in battle and his remains could not be found. _She has no family left. No-one._

She was just about to turn to the next page when her pager went off. _911, damn!_

Another day full of trauma had just come to its end for Callie. Broken bones, screaming kids and worried parents were all in a day's work for the tall Latina. Being the head of orthopaedics had its advantages. Picking your own hours were one, deciding which surgeries she wanted to scrub in on and spending more time on her cartilage research were also on the advantage list. Callie would normally not work in the ER but the past few days it had been extremely busy. People couldn't stop hurting themselves or kids who never thought about the consequences of their 'home made stunts'.

Another late night and Callie walked out of the changing room. All she wanted was a warm bath and a glass of red wine to calm herself down a bit and to soothe the adrenaline still pumping. Before walking towards the elevator she made a sharp turn to her right and headed towards Arizona's room. Somehow it would make her feel better if she knew that the pretty blonde in room 203 was ok.

The room was dark. The only light were the street lights shining through the big window. The beeping from the machine made Callie aware that there was no change in her prognosis. Sighing, she walked up to the bed and glanced down at the woman who had unexpectedly come into her life. Standing there thinking about Arizona's unknown past she suddenly became aware that at some point she must have grasped a petite hand in her own larger one. Shocked, she was just about to pull away when she felt movement. Looking down at their joined hands she could see thin fingers moving.

"Ms Robbins, can you hear me?" No response. "Arizona!" Still nothing. Quickly she paged Dr Shepherd. Trying to add more physical contact in attempt to wake the woman, she applied more pressure to the hand she was holding while her left hand rubbed soothingly but firmly up and down Arizona's arm. "Arizona, can you please wake up for me?" She gave her arm a gentle squeeze. "You are in the hospital. You were brought in yesterday. My name is Callie, Dr Callie Torres. I'm your doctor. Could you squeeze my hand if you can hear and understand me?" She waited what seemed like forever until she felt the slightest pressure around her fingers.

Smiling, Callie continued to rub her hand along her thin arm. "Good, Arizona. You're doing fine. Can you try to open your eyes for me please?"

Callie could see eyelids fluttering and a weak moan made its way through the woman's throat. "Callie, what's going on?"

Derek came up to her left side. "She is coming around. She squeezed my hand and her eyes are moving. She is waking up."

Dr Shepherd fished around in his breast pocket of his lab coat and grabbed his penlight. "Ms Robbins, can you hear me? Can you open your eyes for me?" Slowly pale blue eyes came into view. Derek gently approached and turned on his torch. He quickly checked Arizona's pupillary reflex and was very happy with the response. "Great, now could you please try to follow the movement of my finger?" Blue orbs tracked the path of his finger. Right to left. Left to right. Up and down. Down and up. "Very good. Do you know where you are?"

The blonde blinked a few times and scanned the room before her blue eyes met concerned brown. "Hos… hospital." Her mouth was dry and her voice raspy. Callie quickly poured her a glass of water from the night stand, placed a straw in it and gently placed the tip in front of the woman's lips. "Take a sip but do it slowly so your body can keep up."

A couple of sips and a few coughs later, Arizona relaxed into the pillows and took a deep breath. A second later she realized that it was a mistake when a sharp pain stabbed through both of her sides and she fought the urge to inhale again. Her chest felt tight and her arms, face and head were throbbing.

Callie laid a soft hand on her shoulder only to find the woman shudder away and the brunette could see the fear in her eyes. She held her hands up to show that she meant no harm. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just want to help. We all want to help. Can you remember what happened? Who did this to you?"

Arizona shifted her eyes between the two surgeons. The fear and the pain became too much for her body to handle all at once. She started to hyperventilate and her hands were grasping tightly against the white bed sheets, turning her knuckles into a similar colour.

Callie acted fast. She grabbed for the morphine pump that Arizona was connected to and quickly pressed it. She knew it would only be a matter of a couple of minutes before it would start taking effect. "Easy. Take slow breaths. Don't breath in to deeply cause it will only cause you more pain. Slow and shallow breaths for now." Callie watched as the blonde struggled for a bit but very quickly gained control. "That's it nice and slow. You're safe here. No one is going to hurt you. Everything is all right." Arizona once again slipped into a deep sleep and her body visibly relaxed.

Callie turned her attention to Derek. "She will be alright, right? I mean she woke up and she knew where she was and that's good so she should be alright?"

Derek had never seen Callie so concerned and worried over a patient before. Especially a patient that she had only knew for a day. "It's all looking good so far. Her pupillary reflexes are good, she was aware of her surroundings and she even knew that she was in a hospital. The morphine will make her sleep through the night and she should hopefully feel a bit better tomorrow. More lucid but still in pain. You should go home Callie and get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning." He placed a firm hand on her shoulder before he exited the room.

She knew he was right. She was dead on her feet but a part of her didn't want to leave the blonde alone in case she woke up during the night. _I'm being ridiculous. I don't even know her. _Before switching off the lights she took one last glance at the sleeping woman. "I'll see you tomorrow, Arizona. Good night."

"Karev!" No answer. "Alex!" The handsome, lady loving paediatrician stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. "What's up, Torres?"

Callie walked up to her friend. "Wow, you kind of look like shit, Karev. Lack of sleep? Did someone get a bit of something something last night?" Alex rolled his eyes in a non- amused way. "Well, isn't she a lucky one having to deal with your morning grumpiness. You paged me Dr Karev."

"Yeah, the kid in room 05, X rays says a broken tibia. Here's his scans." Callie closely looked at the pictures in front of her on the tablet. "Oh, he's going to need some screws. Get an OR prepped and page me when it's ready. This kid needs to be fixed by my God like hands." The brunette was in a good mood this morning.

Karev popped a lollipop into his mouth. "Shut up and stop licking your own ass, Torres."

Callie grabbed his ear and gave it a firm tug which made Alex open his mouth in pain. She saw her chance and took the lollipop out. "These are for the kids, Karev." She tossed it in a nearby bin as she headed off.

She finally got a chance to check in on Arizona before the kid's surgery. It was still quite early and she hoped that she would sleep for at least another couple of hours. She was right. The blonde was resting. Her bruises were changing colour and her lacerations were forming scabs. All good signs of recovery she thought, smiled and closed the door.

The OR had been prepped. Callie had asked Karev to scrub in. "Grab a clamp and help me find the bleeders." They worked fast and efficient together. It was like they knew what the other one was thinking before they asked for something. Two hours later they had completed a successful surgery and the boy was brought up to recovery.

Feeling a caffeine craving coming on she headed straight for the cafeteria to crag a cup of decent coffee before checking in on Arizona. Just as she entered the room the blonde shifted in her big hospital bed and eyelids struggled to open. Quietly Callie made her way to her and gently placed a hand on Arizona's lower arm, avoiding her cuts and scrapes. "Arizona, can you hear me? Take your time opening your eyes. It's ok."

After several attempts blue met brown. "Hey." Callie gave her a warm smile. "Do you remember where you are?" The blonde tried to move her arms to touch her face, slightly pulling at her IV. "No, no, it's ok. Don't try to move too much. Your stitches are still kind of fresh. We wouldn't want you to rip anything open. Just lay still and try to relax. Do you remember my name?"

"Cal… Callie." Again, Callie had to put a straw to her lips to let the water calm her dry and aching throat.

"Good. Can you tell me your name?" Even though the Latina already knew her name she still wanted to hear it from the blond herself. Arizona immediately started to tense up. Eyes anxiously scattered around the room, looking for something or someone Callie thought. "It's ok. Whatever happened to you, it's ok now. No one here is going to hurt you or make you do anything you don't want to do. We are all here to help. Can you please tell me your name?"

Callie watched her hesitate for a moment, almost afraid of what might happen if she said it out loud. "Ari… Arizona. My name is Arizona."

Torres smiled and nodded. "Okay good. I'm going to need your last name too for your medical report." Again the blonde became tense and nervous. _I can't tell her my last name. She'll find out everything. If not her than the police will. He'll find me and I'll have to go back. _Arizona just shook her head and looked out through the window, avoiding eye contact trying to come up with something to say. A different surname but she was tongue tied. Callie sighed, pulled a chair up closer to the bed and sat down. She tried to speak as gently and calmingly as she could. She wanted this woman to be able to trust her. "Ok, Arizona. I want you to try and trust me on this. I don't know what happened to you or how you ended up here and I'm not going to push you into something you're not ready for but I need something to go on." The brunette sighed. _I have to do this. It's just going to get worse if I don't. _

Slowly she pulled out a folder she had been carrying under her arm and opened the first page. "This is you, isn't it?" She turned the page towards the blonde and watched as blue eyes fill with horror and tears. Her already pale face turned ashen and slender hands started to shake. The fear took a hold of her body. Tears rolled down her cheeks, her chest got tight and a lump formed in her throat. Her breathing became laboured and she curled up into a foetal position to try and ease the pain.

Callie watched her struggle. She wanted to give her something for the pain but that would mean she would fall asleep and they would be back to square one. She softly took a cold shaking hand in her warm one. "It's ok, Arizona. You're safe here. Nothing bad is going to happen to you here, I promise. Try and calm down. Slow and shallow breaths remember?"

The blonde nodded as tears silently made their way down pale cheeks. "You are Thee Arizona Robbins, aren't you?"

Pale blue eyes locked with hers. "Yes." It was almost a whisper.

A warm smile spread across Callie's lips, trying to comfort the woman and make her feel like she could trust her. "Ok. Like I said, you are safe here but I do need to call the police."

Once again Arizona started to struggle, fear creeping across her face. "Listen to me, Arizona. They already know that you are here and I promised I'd call them when you woke up. All they want is to talk, that's all. They just want to know what happened. You don't have to go into detail just let them know how you ended up in this hospital. They want to know who did this to you. I'll be right here in the room next to you if you want me to?"

The blonde had calmed down slightly and looked down at the tanned hand gently holding hers, closing her eyes she nodded.

The police arrived within fifteen minutes after Callie made the phone call. Before they started questioning the poor woman Callie called them into her office to inform them about her physical state. Telling them not to push her too hard and go gently with her. "Otherwise she could shut down completely and you'll get nothing out of her. I have to think about what is best for my patient. Have I made myself clear?" She tried to sound intimidating, letting them know that she was serious and no one to mess with.

"Sure, Dr Torres. We'll go nice and slow." Detective Karen Harper made Callie relax a bit. Female detectives were usually more sensitive than male.

Callie glanced over to her partner Detective Brian Birmingham. "Of course Dr Torres."

Arizona was just waking up as they walked through the door. Her eyes grew wide with fear when she spotted the uniform clad detectives. A petite hand reached for the emergency button but stopped half way when she saw the dark Latina soon behind. "It's ok, Arizona. They are here to help and ask you some simple questions. You are in control and can stop whenever you want to, okay? Do you want me to stay or would you be more comfortable talking to the detectives alone?"

Blue eyes shifted between the brunette and the two officers, not knowing what to do. Callie saw her struggling with the decision and came up with an idea. "How about I leave and I'll be just outside the room so you can see me through the window and if you get too uncomfortable just let me know. I'll be close by?"

The blonde finally agreed with a nod. The pain relief was making her lightheaded and vision a bit blurried and delayed. Her attention was now on the officers, waiting to be bombarded with questions that demanded answeres. Detective Harper cleared her throat and took a slight step forward, clearly uncomfortable and at loss herself, not knowing how to proceed.

"Ms Robbins, my name is Karen Harper and this," indicating towards the tall broad man by her left side "is my partner detective Birmingham." Not really waiting for some kind of reaction or response from the blonde the detective continued. "We are here to ask you some questions. If you feel uncomfortable or not ready to talk about certain things and want to stop, just let us know and we'll take a break, okay?"

Not feeling ready to face any of this at all, Arizona gave them her approval anyway. "I'm sure there is a lot more to all of this that we don't know and don't have in our records and I'm sorry that I have to jump in and ask all these questions but I have really no choice." The male detective fished out a worn notepad and pen from his breast pocket, getting ready to scribble down anything of importance. Harper cleared her throat and struggled with how to approach. "What happened that day you disappeared?"

Arizona felt her stomach clench, her heartbeat thumping in her ears and her hands started to perspirate. Her tightly wrapped up knee was experiencing waves of pain every time the blood pumped through her body. She swallowed, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. _It's now or never. _She thought. "I, um... It was the 15 th of December 1995. My boyfriend, Kevin asked me the previous day, my 18th birthday, if I wanted to marry him." The pain in her shattered knee made it hard to concentrate but she pushed through, wanting to get this over with. "I said yes. We had only been seeing each other for seven months but it all felt so right." Blue eyes closed and a single tear made it's way down pale skin. "It was all a mistake. If I had known... If I had known what would come of it I..." She struggled to calm herself. Trying to get back in control. Her chest tightened and a whimper escaped her dry throat.


	2. fear

Chapter 2

Fear

In that very moment, Callie lifted her eyes from the bright screen on her tablet and met teary blue ones. She immediately regretted letting the officers interrogate her when she was clearly not ready. She barged through the doors, power and intimidation fully present. "That's enough. I'm sorry but I'm going to ask you to leave. I have to think about what's best for my patient. She needs her rest and time to heal. I'll let you know when she is stronger and you can try again but for now, you'll have to work with what you've got." The disappointed look on the officer's faces didn't bother the stoic doctor one bit. Sensing it was not up for discussion, they reluctantly left the room.

Seeing Arizona's painfilled face, she quickly reached for the morphine pump but was stopped by a cold shaky hand. "Please, don't." The voice was barely a whisper but Callie heard it loud and clear. "I don't want to fall asleep." The tall latina stopped dead in her tracks. Blue eyes locked with her brown an suddenly she understood. Arizona was afraid to fall asleep because sleep usually brought us dreams and in Arizona's case, they must be anything but pleasant. But she also knew that having a shattered knee was not pleasant either. Without thinking she pulled the chair, next to he blonde's bed, closer and sat down. The pale hand was still resting on her arm and she gently took it in he own warm elegant ones. This woman was a complete stranger, someone she knew so little about, yet she felt for her. What she felt she couldn't explain but there was definitely something about this woman and she wanted to make sure she was alright and taken care of. Gently, she gave her hand a squeeze.

"I know you're afraid to go to sleep but I know that the pain in your knee must be excruciating and it's my job to make sure you are as comfortable as can be. I promise I'll stay with you for a while. Its okay, it will be okay." Arizona looked down at their joined hands and once again she found herself looking into kind brown orbs. She felt her chin quiver but slowly inhaled, as deep as her body would allow, and nodded. Callie helped her lower the bed so she could rest comfortably and pulled the covers up to cover the frail from.

It only took Arizona a couple of minutes before her eyes fully shut and her hand went limp in the doctors hands. It wasn't long after that brown eyes started to droop and Callie slowly slipped into a light slumber.

Very short chapter, I know. Sorry. I'll do better in the next one.


	3. crashing down

Chapter 3

Crashing down

"Torres, anything new on your patient?"

Callie turned around and stood face to face with Yang. Sighing, she put her hands in her pockets, getting ready for a discussion that Christina still wouldn't listen to or understand. "Dr Yang. My patient is none of your concern." she lowered her voice and stepped a by closer. "I specifically told you not to speak to anyone about this."

Christina held her hands up to defend herself. "Wow, Torres. No need to be so snarky. You told me not to speak to anyone about it and I didn't and I'm not doing so. I'm talking to you, there's a difference." Smiling, she felt proud about the answer she just gave her friend. "Besides, maybe I can help. Does she need heart surgery? A heart valve repair or replacement, a tripple bypass perhaps? How is her heart in general Dr Torres?"

Callie knew exactly what Christina as getting at. "Nice try but her heart is perfectly fine, Yang. If I need your help on this case I'll be sure to let you know."

Frustrated, the Asian woman once again went to look for Dr Hunt.

Callie had an unsettling gnawing feeling in her stomach all day. She knew why and tried to shake it, but it kept coming back again and again. Eventually Arizona was going to wake up and stay awake for longer periods of time. Long enough to get her to ask questions about her parents and brother and, as Callie could see it, it was her responsibility to provide her with answers. How do you tell someone their whole family is gone? Not just gone but dead. Shaking her head she stabbed her fork into a piece of cucumber and shoved it into her mouth.

"You seem like you're very far away, Dr Torres. Need an ear?" Mark Sloan sat down on the chair next to hers, taking a substantial bite from his burger.

"How can you eat that crap and still stay so fit? Its so not fair." Poking her salad around the plate just made it look even more unappealing.

Sloan popped a couple of fries into his mouth and washed it all down with some coke. He leaned back, grinned and gave his perfectly flat and toned stomach a rub.

"Nothing bad ever stays on this beautiful booty, baby. I suppose I'm just lucky that way." He leaned in close to her ear and wiggled his eyebrows. "Wanna see it close up?"

"Don't even go there Mark. Not inerested." Taking a sip of her orange juice she felt her pager vibrate and quickly checked it. Dr Shepherd. No emergency. Probably a consult. "Gotta go. My skills are needed. Try the nurse's station. You might have better luck there."

Dr Shepherd was just checking on Arizona's pupils when Callie walked into the room. "Derek, what's wrong? What happened?" She rushed to his side so she could better assess the situation but was reassured by a strong hand on her arm.

"Everything looks fine, Dr Torres. I just popped in to check for any abnormality and Miss Robbins woke up an asked for you." He turned his full attention towards the blond patient. "It all looks good. Just let me know if you start experiencing headaches, dizziness or blurred vision." He swiftly exited the room.

Callie suddenly felt her heart staring to pound wildly in her chest and her mouth went dry. Shit! Here we go. Just take a deep breath and stop shaking. It's not about you, it's about her. Get your shit together. Licking dry lips she sat down on the plastic chair that she had already spent over an hour you sitting on earlier that day. "Are you okay? Any pain?" A small nod came from the weak woman. Callie immediately rehashed for the pump, knowing that the pain from her injuries were almost unbearable, but was stopped mid air.

Arizona held her hand in a surprisingly strong grip. "I didn't know who to speak to and you being my doctor I just assumed you are the one I should ask." She closed her eyes briefly and opened them again. "Does my family know I'm here? Did you contact them?"

The brunette inhaled and planted a sad smile on her face. She squeezed the slender hand gently and scooted a bit closer. "Arizona, I... I don't know how to say this to make it easier on you. A lot happened while you were..." Fuck, this is hard. "uh, while you were absent." Callie made a small break. "Your parents passed away four years after you went missing. They were involved in a car accident and were killed instantly. They didn't suffer." She was now holding Arizona's hand in both of hers. "I am so sorry."

It was like Arizona didn't understand what Callie had just said. Her expression was blank and so was her mind. "Oh!" was all she could muster. Being away from her parents for so long made it a bit easier for her to comprehend and deal with it. So many years had passed without seeing her family. Without seeing her brother. Timothy! "What about my bother? What about Timothy? Does he know I'm alive?"

Callie wanted nothing more than to tell Arizona that her brother was here and well and waiting just outside the door. They weren't trained for this in med school. They were told to be compassionate and truthful but this was just too much. If Callie felt that this was too much then she could only imagine what Arizona must be going through. "After your parents death your brother, Timothy, joined the army. He served for three years." Even Callie's eyes were starting to fill up. Get a mother fucking grip on yourself. She forced herself to stop crying. "Your brother was killed in battle. Some sort of explotion. His body was never recorded." Even though the Latina tried so hard not to cry and get too involved, she couldn't help the lone tear slowly making its way down her cheek. "I'm so sorry. I wish I had some good news for you." She quickly wiped at her moist skin, annoyed for crying in front of a patient. "Is there anyone you would like me to call. An aunt or uncle perhaps, fiends?"

Arizona was no longer looking at Callie. Her gaze was fixed on the white wall in front of her. It didn't seem real. None of it. It was like she was having an outer body experience and saw herself come crashing down. She felt numb, empty and hollow. All these years she had been thinking about her family. Were they okay? Were they looking for her or had they given up all hope of ever finding her? All these years and they weren't even alive. She also felt robbed. Like someone had taken something from her that could never be replaced. Something so valuable all the money in the world would still not be enough to fill the gaping whole. She didn't feel sadness or sorrow. Just anger and hate. Not until Callie gave her hand a gentle tug did she pull her stinging eyes from the same spot she had been staring at for a couple of minutes now. The tender touch pulled her back to reality.

"Arizona?"

The soothing voice entered. She was not aware that Callie had asked her a question. She wanted to be alone. Left to herself with her feelings. Try to sort them out and make some sense of it all. She firmly tugged her hand free from Callie's warm comforting ones. "I'd like to be alone, please." She turned her head to the side, away from th doctor, facing the window.

Callie felt like she couldn't and shouldn't leave. Even though they didn't know each other it still felt wrong to leave Arizona all alone. "Its okay, I can stay for a while."

The blonde head shook. "I want to be alone. Leave." Her voice was firm and empty. Respecting her patient wishes she reluctantly left the room.

It was starting to get dark outside. Small raindrops were hitting the thick glass. Outside she heard the buzzing city. Car horns, sirens, tire screech and a faint roll of thunder. Outside the world and lives of other people kept on going like nothing ever happened. Outside was a scary place.

Closing tired eyes she focused on the sounds from outside. Trying to ignore the dull ache in her chest that was now making itself known. She knew she was fighting the impossible. Tears fell freely down pale skin, leaving damp patches on her pillow without her registering it. The pain increased and she could no longer try to contain her breathing. A loud gasp echoed through the room. Air filling starved lungs and the pressure on her chest begging for release. Another gasp followed by a strangled cry, she came crashing down.

Another chapter will be added shortly... I hope.

Reviews are very much appreciated appreciated. Cheers.


	4. Mixed emotions

Chapter 4

Mixed emotions

"Dr Torres!, Dr Torres!" April Kepner came running down the corridor with a bunch of papers waving in her hand. The constant smile on her face was unusually annoying this morning. Callie had to get through this day and couldn't wait to go home knowing she had tomorrow off. Somehow she managed to put a fake smile on her face.

"Dr Kepner. What can I do for you?"

The breathless red head came to a halt, cheeks flus. "I've got Miss Robbins test results."

Callie's eyebrows shot up under her side fringe. "Oh, thank you." Grabbing the paper sheets she flickered through them. Everything looked normal. _Dehydrated, iron level is low and malnutrition. Nothing out of the ordinary considering what she must have gone through. _"Thanks, Kepner. Thought it was an emergency judging from the way you were running." Callie mentally rolled her eyes.

"Oh no, I'm just trying to be efficient. Is there anything else you might need Dr Torres?"

Looking up she gave April a quick smile. "No, thank you." She turned to leave but stopped. "Actually there is. A bit less of the smiling. Its too perky. You're gonna kill someone with your perkiness."

The intern, still smiling, nodded and almost skipped down the hallway. "Okay, Dr Torres. Page me if you need me."

"Too perky." The Latina muttered as she headed toward Arizona's room.

She didn't feel good about leaving Arizona alone yesterday, especially after such devastating news. She had informed the nurses about the situation and instructed them to keep a close eye on Jane Doe. Nobody knew her real name except for Torres, Kepner and Yang. If her real name came out it could lead to rumors and rumors are made to be spread and it would somehow, without a doubt, leak to the press. The thought made her shiver. _The chief would have my ass. _

The room was darkish and quiet. Arizona was facing the window as she had done when Callie had left the previous day. It was almost like the blond hadn't moved at all. Walking towards the bed she tried to me as noisy as she could. She didn't want to scare her.

"Arizona. Its Callie." She paused to see if the woman would acknowledge her presence but was greeted with nothing. "Your test results came back today. Everything looks good. We just need to get a bit more fluids and nutrients into you. We don't want you fading away." Still nothing. Callie leaned over a bit to get a glance at the pale face and was pained to see tear marks on her cheeks. Eyes that once were blue now looked grey and bloodshot. She wakes over to the extremely uncomfortable char, carried it over to the other side of the bed and sat down. Finally getting a close look at the distraught woman she could vaguely make out a sheen of sweat covering her forehead. Callie knew straight away that she was in pain.

Arizona didn't care. The physical pain was welcomed. It kept the emotional pain at bay. It was a deliberate choice, She had made, not to press the pump and that scared Callie a bit. Arizona knew very well where the pump was located and how to us it, she just choose not to. "Arizona, I can see that you are in pain, physical and emotional, but there is no need for you to suffer more than you already are. Please, let me press the button."

The brunette didn't really wait for an answer and reached over the petite frame but a weak voice interrupted her movement. "No."

Callie wasn't even sure she had heard Arizona speak cause it was barely a whisper. "Arizona, please. I know you're in pain. I just want to help you."

Tired eyes finally met hers. "If you want to help me then just leave me be."

Callie reached for the hand closest to her and felt Arizona try to pull away. The Latina was stronger by a long shot and held it firmly. "I can't do that. I took an oath, in med school, that I would do everything in my power to assist the sick and injured if I was physically capable of doing so. I've never broke that oath in all the years I've worked as a doctor and I do not intend to break that promise now. Do you understand?"

Ashen eyes looked into compassionate brown. She took in the brunettes features. Studied her tanned skin and shiny hair. She looked down at their entwined hands, strong hands, and back up to her face. It wasn't until now that Arizona realized how beautiful this woman really was. Her Hispanic looks were simply stunning. She also saw something in Callie's eyes. She couldn't put her finger on what. Maybe sympathy, empathy or sadness? Maybe all three of the above? She didn't want to trust anyone. She couldn't trust anyone. Trust don't get you anywhere and it sure won't bring her family back or undo everything she wanted undone. But there was something in those brown depths that made her hesitate and question herself.

She felt so drained, tired and weak. Too tired to even be scared. She should be scared. What if he found her? What would happen to her then? Would he take her away again? Hurt her, beat her? No, she had to push those thoughts away. This was a hospital. Its suppose to be a safe place, right? There are constantly doctors and nurses wandering up and down the halls. Its a safe place. She had to believe that it's a safe place.

Without thinking, Arizona squeezed Callie's hand. She tried to draw warmth and comfort from the contact and found herself accepting this woman's closeness and soothing presence. Again, she tugged at the doctor's hand, bringing it a bit closer. No words were necessary. The silence and the physical contact spoke for itself.

Callie gently leaned over, careful not to hurt the blonde, she pushed the button that would allow a high enough dose of morphine to enter Arizona's bloodstream and lull her to sleep. For a second Callie saw panic in the woman's eyes. She pulled the covers more tightly around her body and tenderly brushed her fingertips up and down the inside of her wrist of the had she was holding. Already she could tell Arizona was struggling to stay awake, not wanting to sleep in case of bad dreams. Callie gave her a reassuring smile.

"Its okay. You can go to sleep. I'll stay and I'll be right here when you wake up, I promise."

The last thing Arizona remembered was the feeling of a cool compress being placed on her feverish forehead.

The sound of her pager suddenly entered her dream. Thinking it was her alarm clock she reached out to give it a whack. Her hand collided with hard metal and she swore at the dull ache in her knuckles. "Fuck." Her head shot up and her left eye was stuck together from the mascara that she had generously applied this morning. After a few seconds of trying to pry her eye open she finally succeeded. Glancing down at the blonde she was relieved to find her still asleep. She checked her pager quickly. It was a 911 to the pit. _Damn. I promised not to leave. _Thinking quickly she came up with an idea. She rushed to the nurse's station.

"Could someone page Dr Kepner and have her sit in Arizo... I mean Jane Doe's room and tell her to stay there until I get back. Got it?" The slight overweight nurse nodded, clearly feeling a bit intimidated by the firm voice.

Running all the way to the pit she almost knocked down an elderly woman but managed to gracefully swerve to her right the very last second.

The pit was buzzing, like it always was. People everywhere, screaming, crying and shouting. Nurses running left and right with supplies, syringes and suture kits. It was like a circus that was constantly operating.

"Torres!" Dr Hunt shouted at the top of his lungs so Callie could hear over all the other noises going on around them. To her left down the very far end she could see a group of interns hovering over a stretcher.

"There has been a seven car pile up. Multiple victims on their way in. Mr Bennett here is in the most urgent need of medical care." Owen stepped out if the way so Callie got a full visual of the damage. The man had several deep cuts on his face and chest, a dislocated shoulder, several broken ribs, judging from the bruising, but the injury that stuck out the most was the open tibia fracture on his right leg.

Dried and fresh blood covered almost his whole leg. The bone was sticking out at least three inches, torn muscle tissue and many severed arteries was visible. Mr Bennett could be happy that he was not awake and conscious.

Callie stood still for a second just taking in the glory and beauty of it. This is what she loved doing. Bone breaking, ass kicking ruthless orthopaedic surgeon. That is what made Callie Torres one of the best in the country in her field. Looking at the ivory white bone a smile spread across her whole face. "Awesome."


	5. bit by bit

Chapter 5

Bit By Bit

Blue eyes opened as she heard a light snore coming from her left. The room was dark but she could make out the red head doctor slumped in the chair, looking very uncomfortable. She recognized her from earlier but couldn't really remember her name. Embarrassment suddenly hit her as she remembered how she had shown such weakness earlier in front of Callie. Thinking that the brunette got sick of waiting around and sent someone else to babysit her made her feel a bit deserted.

Her face didn't hurt so much anymore. Ribs and arms were still sore but she actually felt like she was well rested. Her knee was still aching but it was bearable unlike the emotional pain that was heavily bearing down on her chest. Slowly, she tried to reach for the glass of water that was situated on the bed side table. As she held it in her hand a sharp stabbing pain shot through her injured knee and with a crash the glass shattered into thousands of pieces on the hard floor.

April flew from the chair suddenly highly alert. "I'm awake. I'm awake." Franticly looking around the room she could feel her face turn a nice shade of red as she spotted Arizona staring at her in wonder. "Oh, eh hi. I'm Dr Kepner. April Kepner but you can just call me April." She giggled nervously and was about to reach out to shake Arizona's hand when she noticed what had actually woke her up. "Oh, you didnt hurt yourself, did you?" Not waiting for an answer she began to clean it up.

"No... I... I'm fine. I just needed some water. I'm sorry."

April asked a passing nurse to get a brush, a dustpan and a new glass before she turned to Arizona. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It was an accident." She corrected the blankets, covering the frail from, that had gotten into a tangled mess. "Dr Torres got paged for an emergency a few hours ago and she asked me to stay. A seven car pile up and lots of broken bones." Talking was a nervous habit for April. The words just kind of came out before she cold stop them and random information was sputtering out. Realizing she had done it again she mentally kicked herself. "Sorry, you did not need o know all that. I talk. I talk a lot... When I'm nervous. Not that you make me nervous or anything, it's just that I keep on rambling when I'm uncomfortable." April realized what she had just said. "I didn't mean that. I mean, I do but I don't and... I'm gonna stop now."

The nurse came back with the glass and brush. April poured some water for the blonde and watched her empty it. An awkward silence filled the room. April felt sorry for this lonely woman who had no family left. She wondered what was going to happen to her now and after she was released from the hospital? Where would she go? What happened to her? Where had she been all these years? The curiosity got the better of her.

"You know, if... If you want to talk about... You know, what happened to you, I'm a very good listener. Everything you tell me would be confidential of course. Nothing you tell me leaves this room unless it could jeopardize your safety." April gave her a shy but reassuring smile. There was something about April. Something about her presence that made people comfortable and at ease. Even in grade school her friends always came to her when they wanted to talk about their problems, get some advice or just to vent. She prayed to God that this woman would feel the same way and was comfort enough to open up, even just a little bit.

Arizona once again had fear in her eyes but calmed slightly as the doctor took a seat in the chair that she recently had dozed off in. The blonde still remained quiet and the red head decided to try a different approach. "Okay, how about if I ask you questions and you give me the answers? And if there's a question that you don't want to answer or not ready to answer just let me know, okay?"

Arizona thought about it for awhile_ I should tell her. At least his full name_. She hasn't said his name out loud since that day so long ago. The day that changed her whole world and her perception of it. Nothing had ever been the same since and nothing ever would be. If she could turn back time she would go back and do things differently but she knew that was impossible. All that has been done could never become undone. This is it. _This is where I'm at now. _

Licking suddenly dry lips she prepared herself mentally and physically. "His name is Kevin William Tucker. He... He took me away from my family." She said it so fast that April could barely understand. Releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding, Arizona looked at the doctor. Her heart was racing, almost beating its way out of her chest, ringing in her ears, and she was sure that April could hear it too.

The intern smiled warmly. "Okay, you're doing great. Can you tell me his date of birth?" Arizona knew why she wanted to know that detail. A full name and a date of birth and the police would try to track him down. They would check in the registry and find his social security number, get his address and work from there.

_Just tell her the date, the cops will find him and arrest him and nothing more will ever be said about it. _She closed her eyes shut as tight as she could, afraid of what was going to happen once the words came out. "June the second 1974." Before April could answer, Callie appeared. Tired from the chaos in the pit and from performing back to back surgeries for the past few hours.

"Oh, you're awake. I'm sorry I had to leave. 911 call." Callie glanced over at Dr Kepner who just gave her a hasty smile and excused but stopped in the doorway.

"Dr Torres, could I have a word with you outside, please?"

The Latina just nodded and told Arizona she would be back in a few. Once outside the room, out of Arizona's view, Callie raised her hands in defence. "I know, I'm sorry I was gone for so long but you know what it's like in the ER. It was crazy and Im..."

"Torres..."

Callie kept going. "... I'm sorry you had to..."

"Torres..."

"wait and cover for me and I..."

"TORRES!" April almost shouted. Looking around she made sure no one was close enough to hear their conversation. "It's okay, I don't mind." Again she scanned the area. "She told me his name and date of birth. I'm gonna go call the cops and let them know."

Callie looked stunned. "Oh... Eh, okay. Did she say anything else? Did she mention what happened to her? Anything?"

April shook her head. "No, but it's a start, right? I'm gonna go make that call, let you know what they say and head home. My back has probably developed scoliosis after that chair."

Callie watched her as she walked away. Smiling, she was grateful for what the intern had achieved and for the loyalty that April constantly showed her patients and coworkers. "Thanks Kepner." The red head just waved.

Arizona was staring out the window with a distant look in her eyes. Upon hearing her doctor approach she quickly wiped a lone tear rolling down her cheek. She tried to give Callie a slight smile but it ended up looking more like a grimace. The Latina wasn't easily fooled and saw the fear on Arizona's face and how she tried to brush it off and pretend that she was fine. Callie sat down.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up. I know I promised and I hate breaking promises. Usually I don't make promises I can't keep but I had to run and..."

Arizona interrupted. "Its fine. You don't have to babysit me. I know you are busy." Callie could hear the emptiness in her voice. Like she didn't care about anything, not even herself. It made Callie sad to see the blank stare and the resigned body language of the blonde.

"I didn't mean for it to come across as baby sitting. I just thought you'd like some company." Silence. "April said that you told her his name. That a very good start, Arizona." Tired blue eyes still gazed out the window and Callie wondered if she was even listening or hearing her. She pushed the chair even closer so she could fully block Arizona's view. "I know you're scared but you are safe here. There are doctors, nurses, cleaners and security here around the clock. If you want I could contact the authorities and have a protective detail set up for you. There would constantly be an officer right outside your door to make sure everything is okay and safe."

Finally Arizona looked over at the brunette, terror covered her face. "No, I don't want any man standing outside my room. I... I can't, I..."

Callie put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Okay, okay. You don't have to. What about a female officer? Would that make you feel better?"

Arizona gave it a good thought. Callie seemed genuinely concerned. She didn't know what she wanted. A part of her wanted that security but another part of her didn't feel comfortable having a stranger hanging outside her door. "I don't know. Maybe..." Blue eyes started to well up as she looked at the doctor. "I... I just... want to go to sleep and everything to be gone when I wake up. I just... I can't... I..."

The tears were flowing freely now. She covered her face with scraped and bruised hands, not wanting Callie to see her cry. A few seconds passed and she was shocked and a slightly relieved when she felt two strong arms encircling her shaking body. She was so sick of crying. She was amazed she had any tears left in her system to produce and yet, here she was again, crying. The embrace felt soothing. Almost healing in a way. She welcomed the warmth and eventually wrapped her own arms around Callie not letting go, holding on for dear life and melted into the comfort and security that this particular woman seemed to radiate.

Callie had her eyes closed, trying not to get too emotional herself. It was never good, or appropriate, to get too emotionally involved with your patients. Another rule and policy drilled into her brain from med school. Sometimes it was hard, other times even harder but when a case like this appears it's almost impossible not to get attached and too involved. Callie had had a couple of cases and patients before that got too deep under her skin and she knew what pain it could bring. This case, however, felt totally different. She couldn't put her finger on why but she just knew she had to see this through and make sure this woman found some peace and closure.

The petite blonde continued to shake in her arms. A couple of minutes passed and Callie's shoulders and neck had begun to cramp up a bit. She slowly stood up, making sure not to break the physical contact, and sat down on the side of the bed still holding Arizona tight against her own body. Callie rubbed soothing circles over the small of her back hoping it would calm her down some.

"Shhh, it's gonna be okay. Everything is going to be just fine. You're safe and you're healing. Its all going to take some time but I promise you that everything will work itself out for the better. You'll see."

Arizona took a deep breath. "I thought you didn't make promises that you can't keep?"

Callie smiled. "I don't." The brunette pulled back a little so she could look into Arizona's eyes. They were red, puffy and full of tears but Callie thought she looked amazingly beautiful. "I know everything is gonna be fine. Do you know how I know?" Arizona shook her head. "Because you made it this far. You are gonna heal and get better, bit by bit." Once again she pulled Arizona close.


	6. Chapter 6 bedridden

Chapter 6

Bedridden

Dr Torres scanned the X Rays hanging up on the light board in front of her. Arizona's shattered knee would turn out to be quite a challenge. Callie was confident about the upcoming surgery, she just didn't want to make any mistakes and took her time analyzing, planning and going over different approaches to minimize the pain, physical therapy and prolonged problems in the future. There was quite a bit of scar tissue and bone fragments that would have to be removed. Not to mention all the metal rods and screws that would have to be perfectly placed and aligned to give the blonde the best possible outcome and to regain full function.

But all in all, Dr Torres was very confident.

She's got the best nurses, interns and attendings on her team and the surgery was scheduled for tomorrow morning. Callie had already gone through the procedure with Arizona and the blonde had seemed alright with it all. If she was nervous she wasn't showing it.

The brunette decided to check on her favourite patient before she finished her shift. Again, the blonde was gazing out the window even though it was pitch black outside and she could only see a bit of her own reflection. Callie knew that a shattered knee is a very delicate matter and you had to lay still and not move around to aggravate the joint. Arizona was very limited movement wise and could only lay on her back. She was literally bedridden and would be for another couple of weeks until she could start small and gentle movements of the knee.

Callie cleared her throat as she entered, not wanting to scare her. "Hi. I just wanted to check on you before my shift ends to see how you're doing." The blonde gave her a slight smile, barely enough to notice. "Are you nervous? Do you have any questions you'd like to ask?" Arizona shook her head and turned her attention back to the window. "Do you need anything to help you sleep?" Another shake. Not knowing what else to do or say, Callie started to leave. "Okay, I'll see you in the morning. Try to get some sleep if you can. Let the nurses know if there is anything you need." When she reached the doorway she was stopped by a small voice.

"Callie?"

Turning around she was met with blue watery eyes. "Thank you."

No more words were needed in that moment. Callie knew that she really meant it and that she was forever grateful for everything Callie had done for her. The brunette gave her a smile, nodded and headed out the door. Arizona was indeed nervous but she didn't want to let Callie know. There was no need to worry the doctor. She probably had other things on her mind to worry about.

It was pitch black outside. The night was creeping in and the, always so busy corridor, was now quiet except from a faint mumbling coming from the nurses station, fingers typing on a computer keyboard and a weak beeping from the heart monitor next door down the hall. Closing her eyes she knew she was facing a sleepless night.

"Christina, where the hell is my purple blouse? I know I put it here." Callie gestured to the couch, that was now barely visible underneath various piles of clothes, clean and dirty. "How the hell do you find anything in this mess, Yang. It looks like the aftermath of a teenage fratparty in here."

Dr Yang shoved a handful of dry cereal into her mouth. She was not even aware of Callie's shouting as she was too busy watching amusing video clips on 'you tube' on her tablet, laughing. "Oh my God! This guy is just pure stupid. Callie, you have to see this. This guy, or retard, is trying to jump from the roof of a barn onto another roof and, of couse falls, and drops like twelve feet, lands on his shoulder and dislocated it. I mean, that is just plain stupid." Laughing she shoved another handful of cheerios into her gob.

"There should be a law against stupid people roaming the streets, or like a stupidity test available for people who are more exposed to stupid people or are more prone to become stupid in the future." Laughing, she continued on to a similar clip.

Callie had in the meantime found her blouse... All wrinkly. "Damn it, Christina. This was clean and non wrinkled when I neatly folded and hung it over the armrest yesterday. Now it's all dirty and wrinkly looking." She looked over at her roommate expecting an answer or some kind of apology. The Asian woman was too engrossed in her 'bubble of you tube'. Groaning, Callie ran into her bedroom and quickly put on a different top. A brown button shirt. A top that she did not plan on wearing today. Today was the day to wear her favourite and lucky blouse. Today, the day of Arizona's knee surgery.

Heading towards the front door, ready to go to work her friend finally snapped out of her buzz. "Hey, wait for me." Grabbing her purse she approached the Latina, eyeing her up top to bottom. "Your shirt is the colour of poo and there is a stain on your left tit."

Callie clenched her jaw forcefully, trying not to explode. "Move it, Yang!"

Raising her eyebrows in amusement Christina exited their apartment. "Someone is grumpy."

Callie did her usual rounds while her interns were prepping for Arizona's surgery. She hoped the blonde had slept during the night so she would be well rested. A good night's sleep was scientifically proven to speed up the healing process of physical injuries and stress. Walking up to the blonde's bed she could instantly tell that Arizona must have had a sleepless night. There were dark circles under her pale blue eyes and she could tell that she was sensitive to the light. Callie immediately dimmed the light in the ceiling before she approached the woman fully. "Rough night?" She gave Arizona a sympathetic smile. "Are you ready for surgery? I was going to wheel you in now but I can wait for a little while if you want?" Arizona just shrugged. Callie sat down on the side of the bed, keeping her distance, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. "Is there something on your mind that you want to talk about before we go in? Any questions?"

Once again Arizona shrugged. "It's nothing."

Callie knew she was not telling the truth. "It's okay to be nervous. I would be too if..."

"I'm not nervous." Arizona snapped.

Callie held her hands up. "Okay." She knew the blonde didn't mean to sound so short and somewhat rude and decided to let it go. The doctor stood up to leave. "Well, I'll send an intern to get you in a while. See you in a few." She shot the blonde a smile, trying to make her more comfortable and calm. Arizona's focus was not on Callie and the smile went unnoticed.

Callie felt bad for not being able to reach out to Arizona before she went in for surgery and now, here she was, laying on the operating table under anaesthetic just waiting for the brunette to slice into her knee with a ten blade. Sighing, Callie went into work mode, trying to put her personal feelings aside. "Alright, everyone. Let's rock!"

Slowly, muffled sounds and noises made their way into her half conscious state. It was all just a blur and mixtures of sounds that she couldn't place or identify. Faint voices suddenly came through and blue eyes tried to open. It was a struggle. Her eyelids felt like led and she just didn't have the strength to pry them open. Even turning her head to one side was an impossible task to achieve and she slowly found herself drifting off once again, too tired to fight it.

The sounds were stronger, more present, this time. Again, she tried to open her eyes when she heard a voice. "Arizona, can you hear me? It's Dr Kepner. Can you open your eyes?" After what seemed like hours of trying she finally managed to cracks one eye open just enough to see the redhead hovering over her. "The surgery went very well. No complications or worries. Your leg is in a cast from your toes up to your mid thigh. That is because the further up the cast goes the more support your knee gets and it should heal faster."

Arizona had by this stage managed to open both of her eyes and was trying to adjust to the bright light. Her throat was sore and dry and she was feeling quite nauseous. She opened her mouth to ask for some water when she felt the stabbing pain in her knee. Crying out in agony, slender fingers gripped the bed sheets and held on until her knuckles went white. April Kepner was quick to press the morphine pump. "I know it hurts. Give it a minute and the pain will go away."

Arizona breathed through the pain and started to relax when she felt it subside. With the pain almost gone Arizona was once again fighting a losing battle with sleep and found herself drift off in her drug induced state.

Next time she woke up there was a different voice coming from her right. It was darker than Dr Kepner's and more soothing somehow. She realized that is belonged to Callie. A hand was gently placed on her shoulder and it was giving it a light squeeze. "Arizona. Its okay, you're safe here. No one is going to hurt you. Ty to calm down."

Without knowing it Arizona was partly trapped in a nightmare and she felt like someone was holding her down. The dream was pulling her in deeper. She started to struggle, trying to get the person who was pinning her down to get off of her but it was no use. The grip on her shoulder was firm and it wasn't going to budge. Trashing around the grip got even stronger and survival mode kicked in. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I won't try anything again, I promise. Please, I'll be good. I'll be good." The blonde was crying still living inside her dream.

Callie was worried she was going to injure herself further. She had to stop Arizona from trashing around and the only way was to get into her bed and try to place her legs on either side of Arizona's injured one and keep it firmly in place. But doing that would probably upset the blonde even more. Not seeing another option at the time Callie got in next to Arizona and quickly but gracefully straddled her casted leg.

She was right. This set Arizona off even more and she now had her pinned by holding her down by both of her shoulders. "Arizona, wake up. Its okay, everything is alright just calm down. It's me Callie." The Latina saw the tears streaming down feverish cheeks and light hair turned dark from the perspiration on her forehead.

She brought her head down to lightly rest her cheek against Arizona's. Her lips almost touching a nearby ear. "Arizona, you have to wake up. You're dreaming. It's only a dream, sweetie." The pet name slipped through her lips before she could stop herself but now was not the time to think about what was appropriate or not.

Blue eyes popped open and Arizona instantly gasped for air. A weight on her body made it feel like she was back there, back with him, in a damp small room with no windows, no ventilation and no sunlight. Panic set in but only lasted for a second. The weight felt different and so did the touch. It was gentle and caring, not rough and violent like she was so use to. The smell of vanilla filled her nostrils and that made her relax somewhat. Suddenly she realized where she was, what had happened and who was holding her down. _It's Callie. It's Callie._

Just as the brunette pulled away slightly, to make sure Arizona hadn't hurt herself and that she was okay, Callie felt two arms grip tightly around her torso. The hold the small woman had on her was like a death grip, a lifeline she desperately tried to hang onto. Arizona pulled the doctor tighter to her, the need for comfort and reassurance took over her body.

Callie slowly untangled herself from the injured leg and laid down next to the shivering frame, still holding the blonde, feeling Arizona's desperate need for physical contact. Without thinking, Callie brought her hand up and stroked sweat soaked hair away from the terrified woman's face. "Shhh, it's okay. You're alright, sweetie. You're alright." Again, the endearment slipped out.

Arizona struggled to get her breathing under control. Her grip was still tight around Callie's middle. "Don't... Don't leave." Her body shook with sobs.

Callie felt her scrub top dampening from salty drops and she could feel her own eyes sting in sympathy for this stranger. She blinked her tears away, knowing she had to be strong for Arizona's sake. Pulling the woman even closer she started to rub her quivering back in small soothing circles. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you. You're safe here with me. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, I promise." She could feel the shaking subside and the gasps for air were no longer as desperate as they had been only a minute ago. Shifting a small bit, Callie got herself more comfortable but never let go of her hold. She felt Arizona bury her face in the crook of her neck as she continued to stroke her back. "Shhh, you're okay, sweetheart."


	7. Chapter 7 trusting

Chapter 7

Trying

Dr Torres became aware of something annoyingly nudging her shoulder. Muttering something non understandable, she tried to shrug it off. The nudging became more insistent and then a pinch followed. Before she had time to open her mouth, and splurge out any profanities, a hand was placed firmly over it. Looking up she saw Dr Miranda Bailey glaring down at her, eyebrows raised and chewing on the inside of her cheek. This was the look the chief resident always portrayed when she was not happy, and now, Callie could tell that Dr Bailey was indeed not happy. Pissed would be a more appropriate adjective in this situation.

"Torres, outside NOW!" I sounded more like a growl than a command.

Callie watched as the short and stubby woman walked off before she carefully lipped out of Arizona's grasp. Making sure that the blonde was comfortable and still asleep she took a deep breath. "Oh, boy!" She silently muttered and walked towards the feared and ruthless chief that people behind her back also called the Nazi.

"Care to explain why I found you, on your day off, in the same bed as your patient? Have you lost your god damned mind, Torres?" Bailey crossed her arms over her chest making her look more intimidating.

Callie knew that Miranda was more or less harmless and that she always put on a tough exterior to scare and threaten her interns, so she wasn't too worried but still, you shouldn't play with fire.

Callie raised her hands. "I know what that must have looked like and I would probably think what you're thinking at the moment, or at lease I think that I would think what you're thinking, but what you're thinking is not what you should be thinking cause it's not what it looked like and I..."

"TORRES!"

Even though she knew Miranda pretty well she was still nervous and flustered. She didn't like to get on anybody's bad side. Callie stopped rambling and shoved her hands into the pockets of her now wrinkled white coat.

"Stop talking before you don't even understand you, yourself. She is your patient and I know you've been single for a long time and... Well I don't know how long it's been since you've... Since... You know..." Bailey's eyes travelled down to Callie's neither regions. The Latina's eyebrows shot up in surprise and shock. "Anyway, that doesn't give you the right to crawl into the nearest cute blonde's bed cause you can't control your bodily functions and hormones."

Again, Callie raised her hands in defence. "Wow!" The brunette nervously chuckled. "I am in total control of my... Bodily... Functions, besides it's not what it looked like. She had a rough night and was having nightmares and woke up in pain. I was trying to calm her down so she wouldn't hurt her leg, that's all." She paused and a guilty expression crept upon her face. "I guess I fell asleep."

Bailey was still standing right in front of Callie with her lips pursed. "So, you decide to jump into be with a total stranger just to calm her down?"

Callie frowned and bit her bottom lip. "Yes, I... I know but... I... Well... When you put it that way, it sounds totally inappropriate and wrong on so many levels. I'm... I'm sorry, Dr Bailey. It won't happen again."

After eyeing the orthopaedic surgeon from top to toe, Miranda knew she was telling the truth. "I know it won't. Listen..." the short woman took a step closer to Callie and spoke in a more gently tone, "I know her story. Kepner told me because I'm the chief and it's hospital policy that I'm being informed about situations like this. You should have told me, yourself Torres. I know that tis case is extremely delicate and has to be treated and handled with ultimate discretion."

Callie sighed and lowered her head in defeat. "I know, I'm sorry. I should have told you." Looking up she continued, "but I really didn't mean to fall asleep. I guess I was just exhausted and zoned out." The brunette got a distant look on her face. "I feel really sorry for her, Bailey. She has nobody. No family, no friends and nowhere to go. What's going to happen to her when she is discharged?"

Bailey signed. "A shelter probably." Callie just shook her head. "I know it sucks, Torres but it's reality. She can't live in the hospital and you know that." Miranda put a hand on the Latinas shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Go home Torres. You look like carp."

"Mer, I'm dying to tell you." Christina Yang sat in the cafeteria with her best friend, arms on the table and face down. To Yang a secret was a burden, especially a big one like this.

Meredith chewed on a couple of fries. "Christina, try to think about something else. If I told you a secret that I didn't want anyone to know, would you tell anybody my secret?" She was hoping her friend would say no.

Yang thought about it for a moment and straightened up. "It depends. If it was a matter of life and death then yeah, I probably would."

Now it was Dr Grey's turn to think before she finally answered. "Good enough answer."

Christina's pager suddenly went off. It was a 911 down in the pit. "Oh, emergency. This better be bloody and disgusting, I need something to keep my mind off this... Thing I can't tell you about. Or even better, I hope it's a massive heart attack. My favourite." She snatched a handful of fries before she left. "Later!"

Callie was laying in her bed, hair damp from her shower. Her days off were usually spent relaxing and catching up on sleep due to her hectic schedule but she found herself not being able to get her mind off the pretty blonde. Groaning, she turned over once again, hoping she would find a more comfortable position. No such luck. As soon as she closed her eyes she pictured Arizona's clear complection and pale blue sad eyes. It was pulling at her heart and mind not being able to help the woman more than she already was but she had no idea how to go about it.

Sha glanced at the clock, standing on the bed side locker. 12.53 p.m. It was in the middle of the day and usually she wouldn't feel bad about spending a day off in bed but today it felt so wrong and not even an option. Frustrated, she rolled out of bed and pulls on a pair of jeans and a top. She had made up her mind. She was going to see Arizona, as a visitor not a doctor. All she had to do was to try and stay clear from Dr Bailey.

Callie entered Arizona's room, a grocery bag in hand, only to find it occupied by somebody else. An older woman was laying on the bed being kept alive by a ventilator. Callie shook her head in confusion, turned around and headed straight to the nurses station. "Excuse me, where is Ari... Eh I mean, where is Jane Doe, the pretty blonde?"

"Oh, she was moved a couple of hours ago. A man came to see her and she went totally ballistic and demanded to be moved to another room."

Torres felt her heart stop only to resume in double speed. "Where? which room? What happened to the man, where did he go?"

The nurse gave her a stunned look. "Eh, he disappeared quite quickly after she started shouting. I...I think he said he was an uncle or something. She was moved to ward 3 A room 365."

The Latina glanced down at the nametag and memorized the nurse's name._ Sadie Cotter. _"Why didn't anyone inform me? I'm her doctor, damn it! Everything that involves her are suppose to go through me, any changes in her health or her treatment." Callie shouted and saw several other nurses pause what they were doing to study her from a distance.

Sadie looked like she was about to burst into tears any second. "I'm sorry... It... It all happened so fast and I... I didn't know... and..."

Callie stopped her by putting a hand up. "I don't care, just make sure it doesn't happen again." Her long legs quickly carried her down the corridor straight to Arizona.

She was greeted with a tear stained face, flushed cheeks and a very confused looking intern she has never seen before. He was obviously trying to calm the hysterical woman. Callie walked straight in and put the bag down on the visitor chair. She looked over at the intern and gestured him to give them some privacy. He looked relieved as he almost ran out the room.

Arizona was trying to control her breathing as Callie carefully sat down on the bed next to her and placed a soft warm hand on a damp cheek. "It's okay, I heard what happened." She lowered her head so she could look straight into the blue eyes. "Did you recognize the man?"

Arizona frantically shook her head. "N... No. I heard him say he was my uncle but I don't have an uncle. I... I panicked and I... I... Just didn't know what to do and I was afraid that... that he was gonna find me and... And that he would take me back and..."

Callie scooted a bit closer and brushed a few stray hair away from her forehead. "Okay, it's okay now. No one is gonna hurt you, okay?" She searched the teary eyes, looking for something, maybe trust. "Okay?" She repeated. The blonde finally answered with a gentle nod.

Realizing that her hand was still resting on Arizona's cheek, she reluctantly removed it and instantly missed the physical contact. Instead she took two trembling hands into her own and held them firmly. "I know that you are scared and that you don't want a stranger hanging outside your door but, sweetie, I think it's time to place a protective detail on you." She felt Arizona starting to pull away but Callie was stronger. "No, I'm not going to let go. I need you to listen to me and trust me." Her tone went from slightly harsh to soothing as she unconsciously started to brush her thumb over Arizona's knuckles. "I can get you a couple of female officers to cover the day and night shifts. I know you don't want this but I think it's for the best. Its to keep you safe and secure. I am almost positive that that man is going to try to find you again. I need you to trust me on this. Do you think you can do that?"

Arizona looked up into calming brown eyes and saw genuine concern. Trusting would be difficult, she knew that, but Callie had done nothing but support and help her since she was admitted and that must mean something, right? She bit her lower lip, dipped her head and closed her eyes causing a few tears to slip. Arizona finally noddded. "I'll try. I promise, I'll try."

A large elegant hand reached out and gently wiped them away. "That's good enough for me. That's all I can ask of you."

The blond felt herself calm down. Her breathing was back to normal and the shaking had decreased. Callie felt like she had achieved something here. She had gained a bit of Arizona's trust and that felt amazing. She felt somewhat honoured and proud. Finally, Callie let go of her hands and reached over to grab the grocery bag. Smiling, she opened it. "I got you some chicken and vegetable soup with brown bread. I know from personal experience that hospital food is not the greatest and I know you haven't been eating well. I thought soup would go down easily. It's from the deli across the street. It's really good." Callie handed her a large take away cup, a plastic spoon and two slices of bread with butter. Again, she fished around in the bag. "I also got you some doughnuts for dessert." Callie gave her a wink as she place the box on the bed side table.

Arizona just stared at the tanned face in front of her, not knowing what to do, think, say or feel. The aroma coming from the paper cup filled her nostrils and made her stomach growl. She felt her face going slightly red with embarrassment. "Why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice to me? I don't even know you and here you are bringing me food and dessert. Why? What do you want from me?"

The Latina thought about how to say what she wanted to say, in a way that Arizona would understand. Brown eyes met blue. "I am doing this because, first of all, I'm your doctor and it's my responsibility to make sure you are comfortable and safe but that's not all." _Great, how do I say this without sounding like a real idiot? _"I know that you don't have your family around anymore and I also know that you have no friends. No one, and I mean no one, can go through what you've gone through, undergoing a numerous amount of surgeries and upcoming physical therapy without someone by their side. I know you don't trust me and, to be honest, trust is something people have to earn. I haven't done anything to show you that you can trust me. I know it will probably take a lot of time and effort but that's fine. All I'm asking is that you will trust me enough to try and make things better from here. To help you get back on your feet and whatever else you might need help with. Can you do that for me, Arizona? Can you trust me enough to help you?"

The blonde felt a calm wash over her and for the first time in years she didn't feel scared, worthless or alone. She didn't know how long the feeling was going to stay but she made sure she would treasure it the few minutes it might last. She felt her body finally relax fully as she scanned Callie's face for any signs that she might not be telling the truth but all she could see was pure concern, warmth and comfort. Taking a deep breath she nodded and managed a small smile. "I'll try."

Callie was happy with that answer. She swore that she was going to gain this woman's trust no matter how hard it was going to be. Trusting someone isn't easy. Its like putting your life, or a part of it, into someone else's hands and allowing them to get a glimpse of your most vulnerable parts and exposing your weaknesses. Trusting, is something that has to come willingly and natural, not forced. Trusting someone for the first time can be incredible frightening, but Callie was going to make sure that this was all going to work out just fine. She had to trust herself to believe it.


End file.
